FULLTEXT01

LiU-ITN-TEK-A--12/046--SE
Co-Design of Antenna and LNA for

1.7 - 2.7 GHz
Bala Bhaskar Gudey
Jacob Kane
2012-08-13
Department of Science and Technology Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap

Linköping University Linköpings universitet
SE-601 74 Norrköping , Sw eden 601 74 Norrköping
LiU-ITN-TEK-A--12/046--SE
Co-Design of Antenna and LNA for

1.7 - 2.7 GHz
Examensarbete utfört i Elektroteknik
vid Tekniska högskolan vid
Linköpings universitet
Bala Bhaskar Gudey

Jacob Kane
Examinator Adriana Serban
Norrköping 2012-08-13
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© Bala Bhaskar Gudey , Jacob Kane

Acknowledgements
We thank our supervisors Dr. Adriana Serban and Dr. Magnus Karlsson for the
fulfilling opportunity to work with them and for the selfless support and guidance
they rendered us over the entire period of execution of the thesis. Be it with lab tasks,
discussions or valuable suggestions through emails, we could always look up to them
for assured help. Apart from the technical guidance, their advices pertaining to
professional documentation and organizing the work, proved invaluable to us. We
thank them for creating an informal yet serious working environment with their
humor and lighthearted conversations. We extend our special gratitude to Magnus
for his enormous help in the PCB lab and measurements lab and to Adriana for
providing great insights into the nuances of LNA design.
Gustav Knutsson, research engineer at ITN was kind and helpful to supervise and
assist with the manufacturing of the prototypes which ensured we produced good
quality boards without committing any errors.
I (Kane Jacob), additionally, am grateful to my parents and close friends for the
constant motivation.
I (Bala Bhaskar) am thankful to my parents and close friends for their guidance and
support.
Abstract
In a radio frequency (RF) system, the front-end of a radio receiver consists of an
active antenna arrangement with a conducting mode antenna along with an active
circuit. This arrangement helps avoid losses and SNR degradation due to the use of a
coaxial cable. The active circuit is essentially an impedance matching network and a
low noise amplification (LNA) stage. The input impedance of the antenna is always
different from the source impedance required to be presented at the LNA input for
maximum power gain and this gives rise to undesired reflections at the antenna-LNA
junction. This necessitates a matching network that provides the impedance
matching between the antenna and the LNA at a central frequency (CF). From the
Friis formula it is seen that the total noise figure (NF) of the system is dependent on
the noise figure and gain of the first stage. So, by having an LNA that provides a high
gain (typically >15 dB) which inserts minimum possible noise (desirably < 1 dB), the
overall noise figure of the system can be maintained low. The LNA amplifies the
signal to a suitable power level that will enable the subsequent demodulation and
decoding stages to efficiently recover the original signal. The antenna and the LNA
can be matched with each other in two possible ways. The first approach is the
traditional method followed in RF engineering where in both the antenna and LNA
are matched to 50  terminations and connected to each other. In this classical
method, the antenna and LNA are matched to 50  at the CF and does not take into
account the matching at other frequencies in the operation range. The second
approach employs a co-design method to match the antenna and LNA without a
matching network or with minimum possible components for matching. This is
accomplished by varying one or more parameters of either the antenna or LNA to
control the impedances and ultimately achieve a matching over a substantial range
of frequencies instead at the CF alone. The co-design method is shown to provide
higher gain and a lower NF with reduced number of components, cost and size as
compared to the classical method.
The thesis work presented here is a study, design and manufacturing of an antenna-
LNA module for a wide frequency range of 1.7 GHz – 2.7 GHz to explore the gain and
NF improvements in the co-design approach. Planar micro strip patch antennas and
GaAs E-pHEMT transistor based LNA’s are designed and the matching and co-design
are simulated to test the gain and NF improvements. Furthermore, fully functional
prototypes are developed with Roger R04360 substrate and the results from
simulations and actual measurements are compared and discussed.
Table of Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................................................................... 2
List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... 5
List of Figures............................................................................................................................................ 6
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. 9
1 Background.......................................................................................................................................... 10
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 10
1.2 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 11
1.3 Thesis Outline .............................................................................................................................. 11
1.4 High Frequency Design Challenges .................................................................................... 12
1.5 Antenna ......................................................................................................................................... 13
1.5.1 Planar Monopole Antenna .............................................................................................. 13
1.5.2 Microstrip Antenna ............................................................................................................ 14
1.5.3 Antenna performance characteristics ......................................................................... 14
1.6 Low-Noise Amplifier ................................................................................................................. 18
2 Monopole Antenna........................................................................................................................... 20
2.1 Substrate and Antenna Specifications ............................................................................... 20
2.1.1 Substrate Specifications ................................................................................................... 20
2.1.2 Monopole antenna requirement specifications ...................................................... 21
2.2 Design of Monopole Antennas ............................................................................................. 21
2.2.1 Inverted F Antenna ............................................................................................................ 21
2.2.2 50  Square Monopole Antenna ................................................................................. 23
2.2.3 Impedance Matched 50  Square Monopole Antenna ....................................... 28
2.2.4 Measured Results ............................................................................................................... 29
3 Low-Noise Amplifier ......................................................................................................................... 32
3.1 LNA Specifications ..................................................................................................................... 32
3.2 Selection of Active Device ...................................................................................................... 32
3.3 Bias Point Selection ................................................................................................................... 33
3.4 Bias Network Design................................................................................................................. 34
3.5 Matching Networks ................................................................................................................... 35
3.6 LNA topology and configuration ......................................................................................... 37
3.7 Complete LNA on Layout Level ............................................................................................ 38
3.8 Simulation Results ..................................................................................................................... 39
4 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA .................................................................................................. 41
4.1 Co-Design Methodology ........................................................................................................ 41
4.2 Classical Design Approach ..................................................................................................... 44
4.2.1 Co-Simulating the Antenna and LNA ......................................................................... 44
4.2.2 Classical design PCB layout ............................................................................................ 45
4.2.3 Simulation Results .............................................................................................................. 46
4.2.4 Classical Antenna-LNA pair fabrication ...................................................................... 47
4.2.5 Measured results and comparison............................................................................... 48
4.3 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA ........................................................................................... 51
4.3.1 Co-Design and layout preparation .............................................................................. 51
4.3.2 Simulation results ............................................................................................................... 54
4.3.3 Co-Designed Antenna-LNA pair fabrication ............................................................ 56
4.3.4 Measured results and comparison............................................................................... 57
5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 60
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................. 61
References ............................................................................................................................................... 62
List of abbreviations
ADS Advanced Design System A circuit design and simulation

environment from Agilent
CF Central Frequency The central frequency of the
frequency range in consideration
DC Direct Current
E-pHEMT Enhancement mode A FET device with a heterojunction

pseudomorphic High Electron as the channel instead of a doped
Mobility Transistor region
EM Electromagnetic
IMN/OMN Input / Output Matching Matching networks used for

Network impedance transformations
IP3 Third Order Intercept Point A low order polynomial used to
model the nonlinearity of a device
IRL/ORL Input / Output Return Loss A measure of difference between
impedance at input / output and
system impedance
LNA Low Noise Amplifier
LTE Long Term Evolution Mobile communication standard
NF Noise Figure A measure of a receiver’s noise

output
P1dB Compression Point Power level at which gain of the

device is reduced by 1 dB
PCB Printed Circuit Board
RF Radio Frequency
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio The ratio of signal power to the

noise
S-Parameters Scattering Parameters Parameters describing the
behaviour of linear networks
TL Transmission Line A specialized cable designed for

RF to carry alternating current
VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio The ratio of maximum and

minimum standing waves
VNA Vector Network Analyzer S-parameter measuring
instrument
List of Figures
Chapter 1
Radiation pattern in polar and rectangular plot 17
Basic microwave LNA diagram 18
Chapter 2
Rogers RO4360 20
Layout and current distribution of an Inverted F antenna 21
Layout and current distribution of an Inverted F antenna 22
Far field Radiation Pattern of an Inverted F antenna 22
Square Planar Monopole antenna 23
Square monopole antenna design steps (a) Main radiator (b) Varied main radiator
size (c) Increased main radiator width and decreased probe length (d) Decreased
main radiator length and increased probe length (e) Decreased probe length, square
main radiator (f) bevelled main radiator with increased length (g) bevelled square
monopole antenna. 25
Input reflection comparison of various designed antennas (a – g) 27
Current distribution of a bevelled Square monopole antenna. 27
Impedance plot for 50 Ω square monopole antenna 28
50 Ω impedance matched square monopole antenna with impedance plot. 28
Input Reflection and VSWR for a 50 Ω impedance matched antenna. 29
Front and rear view of the 50 Ω antenna prototype. 29
VSWR and Input Reflection of the 50 Ω antenna prototype. 30
Front and rear view of the Impedance matched antenna prototype. 30
VSWR and Input Reflection of the Impedance matched antenna prototype. 31
Chapter 3
Low frequency electrical model of ATF58143 33
VDS vs. IDS for different VGS values 34
Bias network with DC annotation 35
Smith chart tool used for designing IMN 36
Simulation schematic for S-parameter level LNA with matching networks 36
Dependence of LNA stability on Cstab capacitor 37
ATF58143 LNA with passive bias and matching networks 37
50 LNA board layout 38
Stability factor of the LNA 39
Simulated gain and noise figure of the 50 Ω matched LNA 40
Simulated input and output return loss of the 50 matched LNA 40
LNA S11 on Smith chart 40
Chapter 4
Traditional antenna-LNA matching 41
50  matching technique example at 2.2 GHz 42
Co-design of antenna and LNA 43
Impedance matching by co-design 43
Data item with antenna simulation dataset (codesign_refdesantenna_50ohm.ds) 44
Sub-network for loading the simulation dataset
(codesign_datasetloadantenna_50ohm.ds) 45
RefNetDesign termination used in top level design for S-parameter based
termination 45
Classical antenna-LNA pair PCB layout 46
Stability of the classical antenna-LNA design 46
Simulated gain and NF of the classical design 46
Simulated input and output return loss of the classical design 47
Front and rear view of the antenna - LNA prototype 48
Forward and Reverse Transmission for different power levels in setup 1 49
Gain and Isolation levels for different power levels of setup 1 in comparison with the
simulated results. 49
Forward and Reverse Transmission for different power levels in setup 2. 50
Gain and Isolation levels for setup 1, 2 in comparison with the simulated results. 51
LNA layout with IMN removed 52
LNA S11, Sopt and antenna S11 plotted on Smith chart before co-design 52
LNA S11, Sopt and antenna S11 plotted on Smith chart after co-design 53
LNA layout with designed MLIN at input for co-design 53
Co-designed antenna-LNA pair PCB layout 54
Stability of the co-designed antenna-LNA pair 55
Simulated gain and NF of the co-designed antenna-LNA pair 55
Simulated input and output return loss for the co-design 55
Comparison of gain and NF of classical and co-design versions 56
Comparison of gain and NF of classical and co-design versions 56
Front and rear view of the Co-design prototype 57
Forward and reverse transmission for different voltage levels in setup 1. 57
Forward and Reverse Transmission for different voltage levels in setup 1. 58
Gain and Isolation levels for setup 1, 2 in comparison with the simulated results 59
List of Tables
Chapter 2
RO4360 substrate properties 20
Operating requirements of a monopole antenna 21
Various length of the radiating element, feed gap, diameter and length of the
feeding probe. 26
Chapter 3
LNA specifications 32
ATF58143 parameters for 3V, 3 mA bias 33
LNA component values 38
Chapter 4
LNA component values for co-designed antenna-LNA pair 54
1 Background
1.1 Introduction
The sensitivity of a radio receiver is high for a low overall noise figure (NF). The
emphasis in the design of the front end of a radio subsystem is always maintaining a
low NF while achieving the maximum possible gain. A Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) is
placed right after the antenna i.e. the conducting device, with an intention of
boosting the received signal power while inserting the lowest possible noise. The
total noise figure F of a cascaded system is given by Friis’ formula as
F= + + (1.1)
where Fn and Gn are respectively the noise figure and gain of the nth stage. Since the
LNA is the first stage and considering the rest of the stages together, the equation
can be rewritten as
Foverall = + (1.2)
where Frest is the total noise figure of all the subsequent stages. This shows that the
total noise figure of the system largely depends on the noise of the LNA and the gain
of the LNA. A sufficiently high LNA gain (typically >15dB) with a low NF (< 1dB)
makes the noise contribution from the stages after the LNA, negligible. Hence a LNA
is a key component at the front end of a receiver and helps ensure efficient signal
processing in the subsequent stages.
The antenna system used in a receiver is called an active antenna arrangement i.e. an
antenna along with an active circuit. This arrangement helps avoid losses and SNR
degradation resulting from the use of a coaxial cable. The active circuit is essentially
an impedance matching network and a low noise amplification stage. The input
impedance of the antenna is always different from the source impedance required to
be presented at the LNA input for maximum power gain and this gives rise to
undesired reflections at the antenna-LNA junction. This necessitates a matching
network that provides the impedance matching between the antenna and the LNA at
the central frequency (CF).
The antenna and the LNA can be matched with each other in two possible ways. The
first approach is the traditional 50  matching method followed in RF engineering
where in both the antenna and LNA are matched to 50  terminations and
1.2 Objectives 11
connected to each other. In this classical method, the antenna and LNA are matched
to 50  at the CF and does not take into account the matching at other frequencies
in the operation range which evidently grants a lower degree of control over the
noise matching. The second approach employs a co-design method to match the
antenna and LNA without a matching network or with minimum possible
components for matching. This is accomplished by varying one or more parameters
of either the antenna or LNA to control the impedances and ultimately achieve a
matching over a substantial range of frequencies instead at the CF alone. The co-
design method is shown to provide higher gain and a lower NF with reduced number
of components, cost and size as compared to the classical method.
1.2 Objectives
The objectives of the thesis are as follows;
1) To study the background of planar antenna and LNA design

2) To design and manufacture a planar antenna for 1.7 – 2.7 GHz frequency
range
3) To design and manufacture a LNA for the same frequency range according to
specifications
4) To design an antenna-LNA pair using traditional 50  matching and
manufacture a prototype
5) To co-design the antenna-LNA pair and manufacture a prototype
6) To verify the gain and NF improvements with simulations at layout level
7) To perform lab measurements for the antennas and the two versions of
antenna-LNA pairs to evaluate the overall gain, sensitivity to fading, input and
output reflection losses and isolation.
1.3 Thesis Outline
The thesis is presented starting with the background of antenna-LNA pairs in the
front end of radio receivers, introducing the design of the LNA and the types of
antennas used and finally the co-design principles are presented. Each design stage
of the thesis has its relevant simulation results to draw conclusions from and
information to build on the next stage. Finally, the prototype manufacturing,
measurement methods and setups are explained with the relevant results.
Chapter 2 begins with the substrate properties and further discusses the design of
various monopole antennas along with the antenna performance characteristics like
antenna input impedance, input return loss and VSWR enabling to choose the right
12 Chapter 1 Background
antenna configuration for the co-design with LNA. A monopole antenna to be co-
designed with the LNA is designed and presented with relevant simulations. Further,
the design and impedance optimization of a monopole antenna for 50  input
impedance is detailed for use in the classical antenna-LNA pair design. Both antenna
prototypes are fabricated and measurements are performed.
The LNA is introduced in Chapter 3 with the specifications. The complete design
procedure of choosing a suitable active device, deciding the required LNA topology
and matching networks, down to the layout level simulations for the LNA is detailed
out. The first LNA intended for use in the classical antenna-LNA pair is designed
matched to 50  terminations with input and output matching networks and is
presented along with simulation results for gain and NF.
Chapter 4 introduces the co-design methodology and the co-simulation of an

electromagnetic (EM) design of antenna and circuit level design of LNA. The classical
antenna-LNA pair design is simulated and the gain and NF results are studied and a
prototype is manufactured. The co-design requires that the antenna and LNA be
matched to each other for optimum power and noise. The input matching network
(IMN) of the LNA is removed and various options are examined for matching the
required LNA source impedance (Zsource) to the antenna input impedance. A co-
designed pair is simulated to study the gain and NF improvements over that of the
traditional design. Consequently, the prototype is manufactured and the lab
measurements are carried out for both designs along with explanation of the
measurement setups.
The final measured results are evaluated and feasible future work options are
investigated.
1.4 High Frequency Design Challenges
The design of the LNA operating at high frequencies poses certain challenges. The
performance of an LNA is limited to the degrees of trade-offs achievable between
the parameters – Noise figure, Gain, Power, Operating frequency, Linearity and
Supply Voltage. Moreover, if the LNA shows nonlinearity it gives rise to
intermodulation products resulting from the presence of unwanted signals in the
neighbourhood of the desired frequency band, which hampers the quality of the
reception. Cost, complexity, number of components and power consumption are the
other factors considered while choosing LNA architecture. The dynamic range of the
LNA can be defined as the range of signals that enable acceptable quality of
reception despite interference and multipath fading and is typically 100 dB for
1.5 Antenna 13
present day wireless receivers. The minimum detectable signal today is near power
levels of -100 dBm and is limited by noise. The maximum signal power that can be
efficiently decoded is limited by saturation and nonlinear characteristics of the LNA.
The limited spectrum allocated also poses a challenge in the receiver design.
Shannon’s theorem gives the correlation between bandwidth and rate of information
and hence a limited spectrum makes compression, information coding and
bandwidth-efficient modulation necessary. In turn, a narrow user bandwidth will
require filtering and amplification to avoid interference with adjacent bands [23].
An antenna that can be integrated needs to be a planar structure. A planar structure

imposes design limitations and lesser flexibility in the performance parameters as
input reflection, VSWR etc. The spectral efficiency of an antenna is the bandwidth
relative to its central frequency and the maximum spectral efficiency that can be
achieved is limited at high frequencies. Receiver sensitivity is controlled by the
antenna efficiency which is the gain of the antenna relative to directivity. Moreover,
the efficiency of the antenna depends on the antenna structure and substrate used.
Rogers R04360 substrate is suitable for high frequency planar antennas due to its
relatively low loss tangent (Tan D = 0.003).
1.5 Antenna
An antenna is a transducer that converts electromagnetic signals to electric currents

and vice versa. It serves the purpose of both transmission and reception. Several
antenna types exist and based upon the application requirements, an appropriate
antenna is designed which in this thesis work is a planar monopole antenna.
1.5.1 Planar Monopole Antenna
These are the most commonly and widely used antennas and are one half of a dipole
antenna, mostly mounted vertically above a ground plane. The wire elements of a
conventional monopole are replaced by planar elements so as to increase the
impedance bandwidth and are known as planar monopole antennas. Planar
monopoles are vertically polarized most of the time and nearly have an
omnidirectional radiation in the horizontal plane; they are advantageous in terms of
low cost, ease of fabrication. They yield very large bandwidth as the antenna feed
point is not balanced but single ended which exists in most of the RF circuits now a
days. They exist in different geometrical shapes such as ring, circular, elliptical,
diamond, square, inverted F etc. Many techniques have been investigated to tailor
and optimize the impedance bandwidth of these antennas as they are becoming
popular and have been proposed for future wideband wireless applications. Over a
wide range of frequencies the radiation performance is also shown to be acceptable,

where the performance is dependent on the size of the ground plane. This is similar
to that of a simple dipole antenna where one element is folded into the ground
plane that acts as a second radiator.
1.5.2 Microstrip Antenna
A microstrip antenna comprises of copper or gold radiating patch that can be

moulded into various shapes (square, ring, disk, ellipse, etc.) on one side and the
ground plane on the other side of a dielectric substrate [2].
Advantages
1) With a simple feed design, dual frequency and dual polarizations can be
achieved.
2) It is possible to fabricate the feed lines and matching networks simultaneously
with the antenna structure.
3) It involves less production costs to be manufactured in large quantities and
can also be merged with the microwave integrated circuits.
Limitations
1) They can handle low powers (~ 100mW) and mostly radiate into half space.
2) High constant dielectric substrate is favoured for fabrication which in turn
results in narrow bandwidth and poor efficiency.
3) To achieve high performance arrays, complex feed structures are required that
may not be suitable for wideband communication systems.
1.5.3 Antenna performance characteristics
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is an antenna characteristic that measures the variable frequency range in

which an antenna can radiate or receive energy with an acceptable VSWR (2:1 or less)
by reducing the losses in unwanted directions.
The steps involved to compute antenna bandwidth are detailed;
Narrowband or Percent bandwidth is given by
% B=[ * 100 (%) (1.3)
Central frequency, = (1.4)

1.5 Antenna 15
Broadband or Fractional bandwidth is given by the ratio
B= (1.5)
If B > 2, the antenna is considered as a broadband antenna.
Impedance Bandwidth / Return Loss Bandwidth
The impedance bandwidth of an antenna changes with frequency and in turn causes
the reflected power to increase; it is a measure of the antenna in terms of return
loss/voltage standing wave ratio (S11/VSWR) which is matched adequately to the
input transmission line, so that ≤ 10% of the incident signal is lost due to reflections
and depends on many factors like the type of feed used, quality factor etc.
Impedance bandwidth B is given by
B= (1.6)
where Q according to Chu Harrington theory is
Q= (1.7)
and R is the reflector radius.
Input Reflection
“The ratio of reflected wave to incident wave is known as the reflection coefficient”
[22]
. A portion of the wave originating from the source and incident upon the two port
device ( ) will be reflected ( ) and another portion will be transmitted through the
two port device. A fraction of the transmitted signal is then reflected from the load
and becomes incident upon the output of the two port device ( ).
(1.8)
If = 0 then
= (1.9)
which indicates a reflected wave divided by an incident wave, by definition is equal to

Input Reflection Coefficient.
VSWR
If a mismatch is present between the characteristic impedance of the transmission

line and the impedance terminated TL then all the power is not absorbed by the
termination but a part of it is reflected down the TL. The reflected and incident signal
is mixed to form a voltage standing wave pattern on the TL and the ratio of
maximum to minimum voltage known as VSWR is used to describe the performance
of an antenna when attached to a TL.
(1.10)
= (1.11)
where and are the mismatched impedances in Ω.
An ideal case is with a VSWR of 1:1 which means that no power is reflected back to
the source which is rarely seen and in practice a VSWR of 1.2:1 is considered as the
best case. If VSWR is 2, nearly 10% of the power is reflected back to the source and a
VSWR < 2 indicates good impedance match and based on this criteria a conclusion is
made whether the antenna is matched perfectly or not.
Antenna Gain
It is the ratio of radiation intensity in a given direction to the radiation intensity of a

reference antenna in a given direction. In this case the reference antenna is the
isotropic radiator which is lossless and radiates its energy equally in all directions. Its
units are dBi for isotropic radiator, dBd if referenced to a dipole and is expressed in
terms of dB normally.
It is computed by the expression
G= (1.12)
G (dBi) = 10*Log = 10 * Log as = 1 (or 0dB). (1.13)
= Conduction efficiency
= Dielectric efficiency
D = Directivity of antenna
1.5 Antenna 17
Directivity
In a specific direction the antenna radiates with greater efficiency than in the other
directions within the surrounding space. It is a similar aspect as that of gain but does
not take into consideration the consequences of lost power (inefficiency). If the
antenna is lossless then the gain and directivity will be the same.
Radiation pattern or Antenna pattern
It is the graphical gain representation of the radiation properties of an antenna in all

directions as a function of space. It is represented in 2D and 3D forms and the
antenna patterns are plotted as “azimuth” in reference to horizontal and “elevation”
in reference to vertical patterns and are known as “principal plane patterns”. The x-y
plane represents azimuth plane ( = ) and the elevation plane or y-z plane
( ).
On viewing this pattern one can get an understanding of how the antenna radiates in
various directions.
Lobes
[10]
The regions of a pattern where the gain has local maxima are called lobes . They
are represented in patterns of Polar and Cartesian (rectangular) coordinate form and
the various lobes are self-explanatory from the Figure 1.1. If the gain of an antenna is
given as a single value then it is considered to be the main lobe or main beam gain.
Figure 1.1: Radiation pattern in polar and rectangular plot
3-dB beamwidth
The angular measure between the points in the main lobe either in vertical or
horizontal plane pattern where the gain is 3dB lesser than the maximum gain is the 3
dB beamwidth of an antenna.
Fading
Fading is the attenuation caused in the amplitude or relative phase with time at the
receiver side for one or more frequency components of the signal.
Slow Fading or Shadowing: This type of fading occurs due to variation in the moving
or constant obstacles in and around the receiver end.
Multipath Fading: Within the channels multipath structure, the transmitted channel
special characteristics are preserved at the receiver. The received signal strength
changes with time as the gain of the channel is prone to fluctuations caused by
multipath.
1.6 Low-Noise Amplifier
Noise figure is an important design consideration for an RF or microwave amplifier

besides gain and stability. Often in receiver applications it is important to have a
preamplifier with as low a noise figure and high a gain as possible since the first
stage of a receiver front end has the dominant effect on the noise performance of
the whole system, as seen in section 1.1. Though it’s desired to have both minimum
noise figure and maximum gain, generally it is not possible and hence there exists a
compromise between the achievable gain and lowest NF.
[1]
Figure 1.2: Basic microwave LNA diagram
A good LNA is by and large expected to provide a high amplification. For this reason,
the active device in the LNA is a pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistor
(pHEMT) biased for the right drain current, IDS and drain voltage, VDS as specified in
the manufacturer datasheet and is achieved by a passive dc bias network, usually a
resistor network. It is important to select the correct dc operating point and proper
dc bias network topology to obtain optimum performance.
1.6 Low-Noise Amplifier 19
Figure 1.2 shows the diagram of a basic microwave amplifier [1]. The input matching
network (IMN) transforms the generator impedance Z1 (usually 50 ) to the source
impedance Zsource (i.e. source reflection coefficient source). The output matching
network (OMN) transforms the terminating impedance Z2 (usually 50 ) to the load
impedance Zload (i.e. load reflection coefficient load). The reflection coefficients source,
load and S-parameters of the transistor determine the transducer power gain,
operating power gain and available power gain of the amplifier [1].
Stability of the LNA: The stability of a LNA is its resistance to oscillate and is a
function of the LNA S-parameters, matching networks and terminations at source
and load. In a two port network oscillations occur when either the input or output
port represents a negative resistance i.e. if |S11|>1, the transistor presents a negative
resistance at the input and if |S22|>1, the transistor presents a negative resistance at
the output. A two port network is said to be unconditionally stable at a given
frequency if the real parts of ZinLNA and Zout are greater than zero for all passive
source and load impedances. If a two port network is not unconditionally stable, it is
potentially unstable. That is, some passive source and load terminations can produce
input and output impedances with a negative real part [1].
The necessary and sufficient conditions for a two port network to be unconditionally
stable are
K>1 (1.14)
and
|∆| < 1 (1.15)
where the stability factor K is given by
K = (1 - |S11|2 - |S22|2 + |∆|2 ) / (2|S12S21|) (1.16)
and
∆ = S11S22 – S12S21 (1.17)
Microwave transistors produced by manufacturers are either unconditionally stable

or potentially unstable with K < 1 and |∆| < 1. Such a potentially unstable transistor
can be made unconditionally stable by resistively loading the transistor. A stabilising
resistor at the drain of the transistor will be used in this thesis to achieve
unconditional stability of the LNA [1].
2 Monopole Antenna
2.1 Substrate and Antenna Specifications
2.1.1 Substrate Specifications
The initial step in the design process is the selection of an appropriate substrate and
it depends on the target application. Various parameters are to be considered while
choosing a substrate like dielectric constant, loss tangent, thickness etc. The
application has the restriction of compact size and was met by choosing a substrate
with high dielectric constant as these physical parameters are inversely related. The
substrate consists of two conductor (cond) layers for the antenna design as shown in
Figure 2.1 in which “cond” is employed for the feed line, antenna patch and LNA
whereas “cond2” is employed for the ground plane of the antenna and LNA. The
substrate utilized is ROGERS “RO4360” and is chosen based on various properties
better than the predecessors from ROGERS [21].
Figure 2.1: Rogers RO4360
The RO4360 has greater dielectric constant than its predecessor RO4350B and the
conductor layer is copper in both the cases. The thickness is almost half of RO4350B
and is preferred for the current application. The properties can be seen in Table 2.1.
RO4360
Dielectric constant 6.15
Loss Tangent @ 2GHz 0.003
Substrate Thickness 0.305 mm
Copper Thickness 18
Copper Conductivity 5.8 S/m
Table 2.1: RO4360 substrate properties

2.2 Design of Monopole Antennas 21
2.1.2 Monopole antenna requirement specifications
The antenna requirement specifications are given in Table 2.2.
Frequency band 1.7 – 2.7 GHz
Central Frequency 2.2 GHz
Characteristic Impedance 50
Input reflection < - 10 dB
VSWR <2
Table 2.2: requirement specifications of a monopole antenna
2.2 Design of Monopole Antennas
The design process of an inverted F antenna and a square monopole antenna are
discussed in this section.
2.2.1 Inverted F Antenna
The improved version of a monopole antenna is an inverted F antenna that can be

thought of as a tilted whip, the antenna is tapped at the appropriate impedance
point along its width to obtain the impedance matching. It has few advantages like
compact size, reduction in backward radiation and good efficiency.
5 0 mm
8 0 mm
Figure 2.2: Layout and current distribution of an Inverted F antenna
To obtain good efficiency an appropriate ground plane is required as the currents in

the ground leg will be high. The ground plane considered is of width 80 mm, length
50 mm and it has variable lengths, widths for various arms, feed and planar patch are
shown in Figure 2.2 along with current distribution. It can be seen that less current is
22 Chapter 2 Monopole Antenna
flowing in the ground plane and high current distribution is flowing through the feed
probe and the upper arm of the antenna. The simulated results in Figure 2.3 shows
that VSWR< 2 in the 2.1 - 2.4 GHz range, the input reflection is around -25 dB as it is
designed in a way that it resonates at the central frequency. Due to the narrow
bandwidth limitation, various feeding techniques and tailoring methods are tried so
as to increase the bandwidth. The desired VSWR and input reflection throughout the
frequency range couldn’t be achieved upon employing these methods.
Input Reflection (dB)
VSWR
Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)

Figure 2.3: Layout and current distribution of an Inverted F antenna
The radiation pattern in Figure 2.4 consists of a main lobe and side lobes that show
how it radiates in space.
Figure 2.4: Far field Radiation Pattern of an Inverted F antenna

2.2.2 50  Square Monopole Antenna
The wire element of a conventional monopole is replaced by a planar element which

is a square radiator in this case as seen in Figure 2.5. The band coverage of 50 Ω
antenna when compared with the inverted F antenna shows good improvements in
terms of VSWR and input reflection and matches the thesis requirements. The
radiating element dimensions L sets the bandwidth of the antenna and a suitable
feed gap separation g is required to acquire maximum impedance.
Radiating
element
p
g
h
d
Figure 2.5: Square Planar Monopole antenna
Lengths of radiating element
g Feed gap
d Diameter of the probe
h length of the probe
Effect of feed gap ‘g’, diameter‘d’ and length ‘h’ of the feeding probe
1) The feed gap ‘g’ between the radiator and ground plane plays a major role in
the design of the square monopole antenna. Optimization in feed gap value
alters the lower frequency range.
2) The diameter‘d’ value is considered as per the line calculator value and when
it’s increased, the upper frequency value decreases which might not produce
the desired results.
3) Length of the probe ‘h’ is altered and can be viewed under various design
steps below; a drop in input reflection can be seen as well as the lower
frequency value depends on it.
Ground plane effects on square monopole antenna
A common problem which occurs in monopole antennas is the performance

degrading due to the ground plane; large ground plane covers more band and
provides less input reflection. The size of the main radiator decreases than the usual.
After observation, the maximum bandwidth occurred when the ground plane size is
50 * 80 mm.
Design calculations
The length of the radiating planar element is designed using the lower frequency
limit of 1.7 GHz, where L, r are the length and radius of the square radiator, F is
resonant frequency, p is probe length and k is correction factor where L, r, p are in
cm.
(2.1)
L = 0.24 F (2.2)
F= (2.3)
r= (2.4)
The lengths and widths of the feed line for a characteristic impedance of 50
quarter wave transmission line are calculated using the line calculator available in
Agilent ADS tool. The designed ground plane is large in this case of length 50 mm
and width 80 mm; it reduced the size of the main radiator and the integration of
antenna-LNA pair was fabricated on the same ground plane. The optimum feed gap
between the radiator and the ground plane varies between 1.9 – 2.5 mm for various
designs shown in Figure 2. 6
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e) (f)
(g)
Figure 2. 6: Square monopole antenna design steps (a) Main radiator (b) Varied main radiator size (c)
Increased main radiator width and decreased probe length (d) Decreased main radiator length and
increased probe length (e) Decreased probe length, square main radiator (f) beveled main radiator
with increased length (g) beveled square monopole antenna.
Table 2.3 shows various lengths of the radiator, diameter, length of the probe and
feed gap used for various designs in
Design (mm) (mm) g (mm) h (mm) d (mm)
a 16 17.1 2.43 25 0.46

b 14.47 28 2.42 25 0.46
c 14.47 28 2.5 16.57 0.46
d 17.43 28 2.5 25 0.46
e 19.38 28 2.5 22.66 0.46

f 16.50 25 1.93 22.66 0.46
g 17.45 27 2.5 22.16 0.46
Table 2.3: Various length of the radiating element, feed gap, diameter and length of the feeding
probe.
shows the step by step design process upon tailoring of square radiator, feed line,
and feed gap. Figure 2.7 shows how input reflection varies w.r.t. the designs (a)
antenna operating in the range of 1.7-2.7 GHz with input reflection>-10dB and VSWR
<2 at 2.2 -2.5 GHz. (b) covers the whole band but the input reflection is in the range
of -6dB to -9dB that is acceptable upto a mark but the VSWR >2 (c) the feed gap,
main radiator and the length of the feed line is tailored so as to see how it effects the
Input Reflection, VSWR. A drop is observed at 1.8 GHZ which is around -7dB but the
VSWR>3. (d) the placement of the radiator on the ground plane is varied which gives
an Input Reflection< -10dB and VSWR > 2 in the 1.8 – 2.5 GHz band. (e) the main
radiator was tailored accordingly to make it in the shape of the square that resulted
an improvement in the input reflection and VSWR which covered the entire band but
there was some deviation from the prerequisites. (f) beveling technique was applied
to the antenna, so as to match it with the requirements. In relation with the
placement of the antenna and size but could not acquire the band coverage as
expected. (g) The final design matched with the desired requirements upon minor
changes in lengths of the radiator and placement of the feed gap, the Input
Reflection < -10 dB and the VSWR is in the range < 2 throughout the band
requirement.
Frequency (GHz)
Figure 2.7: Input reflection comparison of various designed antennas (a – g)
Figure 2.8: Current distribution of a bevelled Square monopole antenna.
Figure 2.8 shows the current distribution taking place among the 50 Ω square
monopole antenna at 1.7-2.7 GHz. It can be seen that more current is flowing
through the probe into the main radiator. The radiation pattern shows how the
antenna radiates energy to and fro from the space.
The designed 50 Ω square monopole antenna has an impedance of 39 Ω. It is

calculated using the equation 2.5, the plot of impedance against frequency can be
viewed in Figure 2.9
* (2.5)
(Ω)
Impedance
Frequency (GHz)
Figure 2.9: Impedance plot for 50 Ω square monopole antenna
2.2.3 Impedance Matched 50  Square Monopole Antenna

(Ω)
Impedance
Frequency (GHz)
Figure 2.10: 50 Ω impedance matched square monopole antenna with impedance plot.
The designed antennas in Figure 2. 6 are the 50 Ω square monopole antennas. The
antenna in Figure 2.10 is the impedance matched 50 Ω square monopole, that is
designed upon tailoring the ground plane width by 2 mm, radiator length to 16.5
mm, is altered to 25 mm. Feed gap is reduced to 1.93 mm and the length of the
probe to 22.66 mm which resulted an impedance of 50 Ω with an imaginary part as
it’s hard to get an ideal 50 Ω match. The impedance plot is calculated using the
equation 2.5 and is plotted in Figure 2.10. As the main aim of the thesis is to make a
comparison between the integrated classical design and the co-designed approach,
the 50 Ω square monopole antenna and the impedance matched 50 Ω square

monopole are designed.
VSWR
Figure 2.11: Input Reflection and VSWR for a 50 Ω impedance matched antenna.
The input reflection is within the desired frequency band, in the range <-10 dB and
can be seen in Figure 2.11. The VSWR is in an acceptable range i.e., below 2
throughout the frequency band, the antenna designs can be used for the integrated
design upon consideration of the simulated results.
2.2.4 Measured Results
The prototypes are fabricated at the ITN department PCB lab under the supervision
of Magnus Karlsson and Gustav Knutson, Linkoping University.
50 Ω square monopole antenna
The Figure 2.12 shows the front view of a large radiator along with the feed line
whereas the rear view shows how the ground plane is mounted to the feed line with
the help of a SMA connector.
Figure 2.12: Front and rear view of the 50 Ω antenna prototype.

The antenna in Figure 2. 6 (g) results in VSWR < 2 and input reflection < -10 dB,
whereas the measured antenna prototype results show some deviation from the
simulated results illustrated in Figure 2.13. Within 1.4 – 2.3 GHz range the prototype
performs better than the simulated results and 2.3 – 3.0 GHz band performs well in
the simulation environment. The measured input reflection is below -10 dB within the
whole band and can be utilized to integrate it with the classical antenna – LNA pair.

VSWR
Figure 2.13: VSWR and Input Reflection of the 50 Ω antenna prototype.
Impedance matched 50 Ω square monopole antenna
The front and rear view of the impedance matched 50 Ohm antenna with a small
radiator and increased feed line can be seen in the Figure 2.14, mounted to the
ground plane with an SMA connector.
Figure 2.14: Front and rear view of the Impedance matched antenna prototype.
The prototype VSWR results shown in Figure 2.15 match with the prerequisites,
within the lower band of 1.7 – 1.98 GHz, VSWR > 2 which means that more power is
reflected from the antenna than expected. Practically a VSWR of 3 is accepted in real
time applications, so this might not cause any major problems for the integrated
design. The measured prototype results within the 2.1 – 2.8 GHz band show
improvement than the simulated results.

VSWR
Figure 2.15: VSWR and Input Reflection of the Impedance matched antenna prototype.
The measured prototype results of the antenna with small radiator shows
improvement in input reflection when compared with the simulated results within the
range 2.1 – 2.7 GHz. The 1.7 – 1.98 GHz band has an input reflection <-10 dB and
VSWR > 2 that do not match with the requirement specifications. The peaks and
drop outs in the measured results observed are due to imperfections caused in
fabrication, soldering process.
3 Low-Noise Amplifier
3.1 LNA Specifications
The LNA is designed for maximum gain and minimum NF while maintaining gain
linearity, gain flatness and stability. The following specifications are applicable to the
co-designed antenna-LNA pair as well. Table 3.1 shows the specifications of the LNA
presented.
LNA parameter Specification

RF frequency range 1.7 – 2.7 GHz
Noise figure < 1 dB
Gain > 10 dB
OIP3 > +20 dBm
P1dB > + 15 dBm
Input return loss - 15 dB
Output return loss - 15 dB
Stability factor >1
Supply voltage 5V
Table 3.1: LNA specifications
The LNA is designed to be unconditionally stable as explained in section 1.5. The

other important figures of merit for the LNA are good input and output impedance
matching, isolation between input and output and low power consumption.
3.2 Selection of Active Device
The active device is selected based on the specifications. Avago Technologies’

ATF58143 microwave transistor’s datasheet provides the following electrical
specifications at 2 GHz, VDS = 3 V, IDS = 30 mA;
 16.5 dB associated gain

 0.5 dB noise figure
 19 dBm P1dB
 30.5 dBm OIP3
ATF58143 is an enhancement mode PHEMT having a very low noise figure (typically
0.6 dB), high dynamic range and high gain with high linearity, suitable for wireless
applications in 450 MHz to 6 GHz frequency range, housed in a 4-lead surface mount
plastic package. Moreover, an enhancement mode device requires only a single
positive bias (Gate voltage VGS) and eliminates the need for the negative gate voltage
3.3 Bias Point Selection 33
associated with depletion mode devices. This feature simplifies the bias network and
enables overall LNA design to be compact [24].
The manufacturer provides both the electrical model of the transistor and the S-
parameter files (.S2P files) for different bias points in Touchstone format. The S-
parameter files can be used in ADS simulations for impedance matching, gain and
noise calculations. However, for low frequency simulations (DC simulation for bias
point) the electrical model of the transistor is most suited. The electrical model of
ATF58143 transistor is shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1: Low frequency electrical model of ATF58143
So the next task is to bias the transistor referring the characterization data from the
datasheet, according to best possible NF-gain combinations. Since the central
frequency of the design is 2.2 GHz, noise figure and gain data specified at that
frequency is considered to select the suitable bias point.
3.3 Bias Point Selection

As can be seen in Table 3.2, from the datasheet the bias point of VDS = 3 V, IDS = 30
mA provides a noise figure Fmin=0.45 dB and associated gain Ga=17.33 dB at 2 GHz.
Since these figures were desirable than those with other bias points, this bias point is
chosen.
[24]
Table 3.2: ATF58143 parameters for 3V, 3 mA bias
34 Chapter 3 Low-Noise Amplifier
To maintain a drain current of IDS = 30 mA with a drain to source voltage of VDS = 3 V,

the appropriate gate voltage VGS has to be determined.
Figure 3.2: VDS vs. IDS for different VGS values
By performing a DC simulation of the transistor with sweeping VDS for different VGS
values, the bias point curves as shown in Figure 3.2 are obtained and it is seen that
VGS = 515 mV will hold the transistor in the desired bias point specified for optimum
gain and noise figure.
3.4 Bias Network Design
A resistive passive bias network is designed to maintain the bias point of V DS = 3 V, IDS
= 30 mA and VGS = 515 mV with a VDD = 5 V supply, as shown in Figure 3.3. The four
resistor values are calculated using applying KVL in the bias network.
R1 = (3.1)
R2 = (3.2)
R3 = (3.3)
R4 = (3.4)
where IBB is the current through R1/R2 voltage divider network and is chosen to be ten
times the expected gate leakage current. IBB is chosen as 400 µA. IGS is the maximum
gate current and is obtained from ATF-58143 transistor datasheet as 0.2 mA. Hence
3.5 Matching Networks 35
the resistor values are obtained as R1 = 1.275 k, R2 = 6.975 k, R3 = 56 k and R4 =
2.6 k. The DC values are annotated in order to verify the currents and voltages.
Figure 3.3: Bias network with DC annotation
With ideal components and non-standard resistor values, a bias point of VDS = 3.3 V,
IDS = 29.7 mA and VGS = 512 mV is resulted. Though these component values will be
replaced by real components in the final layout level simulations, the values provide
an indication of required real component values. The DC Feed and DC Block
components ensure that the RF signals and DC voltages of the LNA do not interfere.
3.5 Matching Networks
A simple S-parameter simulation of the transistor will provide indicators to the Zopt,
Zsource and Zload values with 50  terminations. The matching networks that translate
these impedances to 50  are designed using the Smith chart tool in ADS, with
lumped L and C components. Since the matching networks also need to serve the
purpose of DC block, the design is carried out with an intention of having a series
capacitor element close to the transistor. A LNA is distinguished from an ordinary RF
power amplifier by the fact that the matching is primarily done for a lower NF.
However, since a LNA with high gain is preferred, a trade off between NF and power
gain is inevitable and hence a source impedance in between Zopt and Zsource is chosen
and the L-C network is designed as shown in Figure 3.4. The Zopt and Zsource values at
the CF of 2.2 GHz are determined as 33.9+j14.95  and 17.9+j0.65  respectively. An
impedance is chosen in between as 25+j7 .
Figure 3.4: Smith chart tool used for designing IMN
A similar procedure is repeated for the OMN for a Zload value of 66.4-j14.45. The L-C
networks thus designed at 2.2 GHz are used in the schematic shown in Figure 3. 5 to
verify the matching at the central frequency.
Figure 3. 5: Simulation schematic for S-parameter level LNA with matching networks
For NF matching the Zopt impedance must be used in the design of the IMN and the
conjugate match Zload if source impedance is Zopt, must be used to design the OMN.
However, in the LNA matching, a source impedance in between Zopt and Zsource is (as
a trade-off between NF and power gain) used for the design of IMN. The Zload
specified for gain matching and the Zload for conjugate match for NF, was observed to
be almost equal and hence was used in the design of the OMN.
Determining the value of stabilising capacitor Cstab
The LNA stability is achieved by Rstab resistor loading. The drawback is that a high
Rstab value causes a significant drop in the LNA gain. Hence, to stabilise the LNA
without sacrificing the gain, a stabilizing capacitor Cstab is used at the drain as can be
seen in Figure 3. 5. The value of Cstab is determined by sweeping its value from 0.2 pF
to 1.6 pF while maintaining a constant Rstab value of 6.8 . As shown in Figure 3.6, the
LNA is stable with sufficient gain, at an optimum value for Cstab chosen as 1 pF.
3.6 LNA topology and configuration 37
Figure 3.6: Dependence of LNA stability on Cstab capacitor
3.6 LNA topology and configuration
The LNA is implemented in a common source topology with a passive bias using a
resistor network comprising of R1, R2, R3 and R4. The capacitors C3, C4, C5 and C6
provide bias stability. Instead of using radial stubs with quarter wavelength lines to
isolate the RF signal from the bias network, two inductors L2 and L3 are used as RF
chokes or DC feed. L-C networks are used as IMN (Capacitors C1 and C2 with
inductor L1) and OMN (Capacitors C7 and C8 with inductor L4) which match the LNA
impedances to 50  terminations at source and load. The capacitors C2 and C7 have
the added function of DC blocking so that the bias network is isolated from the RF
section of the LNA. The LNA is designed to be unconditionally stable using the
resistor Rstab and a capacitor Cstab at the transistor drain. The complete LNA using
ATF58143 transistor and a 5 V supply is shown in Figure 3.7.
Figure 3.7: ATF58143 LNA with passive bias and matching networks
Table 3.3 gives the component values for the LNA based on the circuit in Fig 3.4.
Transistor Resistor Capacitor Inductor

ATF58143 R1 909  C1 12 pF L1 125 nH
R2 10  C2 27 pF L2 10 nH
R3 10  C3 33 pF L3 10 nH
R4 3 K C4 10 nF L4 1.5 nH
Rstab 6.8  C5 10 nF
C6 10 nF
C7 10 nF
C8 10 nF
Cstab 1 pF
Table 3.3: LNA component values
3.7 Complete LNA on Layout Level
The layout of the 50  LNA as shown in Figure 3.8: 50 LNA board layout
is designed in ADS Momentum with substrate definitions for R04360 substrate as

given in Table 2.1. The layout component is created by simulating the layout with a
mesh density of 30 CpW for the ‘cond’ layer (used for the RF signal sections) and 15
CpW for pc1 layer (used for ground).
Figure 3.8: 50 LNA board layout

3.8 Simulation Results 39
3.8 Simulation Results
The layout component generated from ADS Momentum simulation as shown in

Figure 3.8: 50 LNA board layout
is populated with real components (with parasitics), S-parameter model of the

transistor, terminations and supply voltage of 5 V. The 50  matched LNA simulation
is performed in ADS for the frequency range 1.4 GHz to 3 GHz using the S-
parameters simulations Design Guide for amplifiers. One of the most important
performance parameters of a LNA is its stability. As discussed in section 1.5, stability
factor K indicates the unconditional stability. The simulated K values for the LNA are
shown in Figure 3.9. The stability factor is K = 1.091 at 1.7 GHz and higher for the rest
of the range of frequencies. Hence the LNA can be assumed to operate without
oscillations as long as the terminations are 50 .
Any other source or load impedances that can be used without oscillations are
determined using the source and load reflection coefficients from the source and
load stability circles presented by the simulation agent.
Figure 3.9: Stability factor of the LNA
Figure 3.10: Simulated gain and noise figure of the 50 Ω matched LNA shows the simulated
power gain and noise figure for the LNA. The gain ranges from 16.74 dB to 11.38 dB
and the NF is well below 1 dB for the 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz frequency range.
Figure 3.10: Simulated gain and noise figure of the 50 Ω matched LNA
Figure 3.11: Simulated input and output return loss of the 50 matched LNA
As observed from the input and output reflection plots in Figure 3.11, the LNA has
acceptable matching around the central frequency.
Figure 3.12: LNA S11 on Smith chart
It is interesting to note the LNA S11 on a Smith chart as shown in Figure 3.12, since
the 50 matched LNA is used for the design of the classical antenna-LNA pair as will
3.8 Simulation Results 41
be described in section 4.2. Later, the IMN of the LNA is removed to investigate the
possibilities of co-design with antenna. This is accomplished by plotting the antenna
S11 and LNA S11 and using a microstrip line of tuneable width and length while
observing the matching between the both S11, to obtain gain and NF improvements
and is detailed out in section 4.3.
4 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA
4.1 Co-Design Methodology
In common RF engineering practice, LNA designers and antenna designers work

independently. The link between antenna and the LNA is the conventional
characteristic impedance in RF systems, 50  in communication applications and 75
[18]
 in TV signal systems . Figure 4.1 shows the traditional method of 50  matching
between the antenna and LNA at a particular frequency. As discussed in section 1.5,
the matching network IMNLNA transforms the Zsource of the LNA to 50 . Similarly the
antenna matching network IMNant transforms the input impedance of the antenna
(Zinant) to 50  impedance. This matching eliminates unwanted reflections at the
antenna-LNA junction and reduces loss of power transferred to the LNA, at the
matching frequency.
Figure 4.1: Traditional antenna-LNA matching
The drawback of the 50  matching approach is that when a wider frequency band
of operation is desired, this approach is unlikely to attain simultaneous noise and
gain matching throughout the entire band. The concept of co-design can be utilized
to achieve a wider range of matching between the antenna and the LNA, to a greater
extent than by the 50  matching technique.
The basic idea of having matching networks for the antenna and the LNA is to have
the input impedance of the antenna ( Zinant) equal to the Zsource of the LNA which
ensures a VSWR of 1:1 at the antenna – LNA junction and thereby maximum power
transfer. It is known that Zinant is a function of the antenna S11 (S11ant) and Zsource of the
LNA is a function of S11 of the LNA (S11LNA). Hence the essential condition for
optimum power matching is;
4.1 Co-Design Methodology 43
S11ant = S11LNA (4.1)
Similarly, a zero reflection matching between Zinant and optimum impedance of the
LNA (Zopt) ensures the best noise matching for minimum noise figure. This implies
that the condition for noise matching is;
S11ant = SoptLNA (4.2)
Considering an example for illustration, a plot of S11ant and S11LNA for the 50 
matching technique produces a result as shown in Figure 4.2 In the example, for a
frequency range of 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz, it can be noted that both the impedances are
equal to 50  at a selected frequency, the central frequency 2.2 GHz.
Figure 4.2: 50  matching technique example at 2.2 GHz
This example is only for illustration of the concept and is rarely realised in practice
because it is extremely difficult to have a purely resistive impedance of 50  at any
frequencies. As a result, the point marked by the arrow on the Smith chart in Figure
4.2 rarely occurs in the centre of the Smith chart in practical cases. As can be seen in
Figure 4.2, the 50  matching plot has poor matching at other frequencies other
than the CF. As a consequence, this method is suitable only for a fixed frequency of
operation or a narrow band. To achieve better matching throughout the entire range
of frequencies the concept of co-design can be implemented. Though exact
matching of impedances might not be always possible, a uniform matching between
the impedances will result in better gain (or NF, depending on whether S11LNA or
SoptLNA is being matched) for the entire frequency range on consideration.
44 Chapter 4 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA
Co-design is performed by removing the input matching networks of the antenna

and the LNA as shown in Figure 4.3. A microstrip line of proper length and width
replaces the IMNLNA and changes Zsource of the LNA in such a way as S11LNA is as close
to S11ant.
Figure 4.3: Co-design of antenna and LNA
For the same example considered for the 50  matching approach, the co-design
method can bring about much better matching as shown in Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.4: Impedance matching by co-design
It has to be noted that the uniform matching, as illustrated in the example, might not
necessarily be always possible. However, the parameters that can be tweaked for the
antenna and the LNA provide a greater degree of freedom in matching the
impedances.
The LNA S11LNA can be controlled by the one or more of the following techniques;
1) Introducing a properly designed microstrip line at the LNA input
4.2 Classical Design Approach 45
2) Adding inductances at the transistor source
The antenna S11ant can be varied by varying the following parameters of the antenna
by ensuring that the VSWR is maintained between 1 and 2.
1) The length of the antenna feed line (as explained in section 1.4) can be varied
with substantial impact on S11ant
2) The feed gap of the antenna
3) Shape/size of the antenna patch (modifying by chopping to introduce more
edges)
4) Dimensions of the antenna ground plane
4.2 Classical Design Approach
4.2.1 Co-Simulating the Antenna and LNA
The classical antenna-LNA pair consists of the 50  matched LNA presented in

Chapter 3 and the 50  input impedance antenna presented in section 2.2.4. Since
the antenna and LNA are matched to 50  at 2.2 GHz, both designs can be directly
interfaced. However, while co-simulating the antenna and LNA, the antenna
impedance needs to be presented at the input of the LNA instead of a regular 50 
termination. A direct connection on schematic level will not produce the right results
since the LNA is a circuit level design and the antenna is an EM design. Hence for co-
simulating the designs, RefNetDesign termination component in ADS is used for file
based input termination of the LNA. The RefNetDesign provides an impedance
reference of the antenna’s input impedance referenced from a file with simulation
data. The figures Figure 4.5, Figure 4.6 and Figure 4.7 shows the method of
referencing an EM simulation’s impedance to a circuit. More information is available
at the ADS help section for RefNetDesign termination [19].
Figure 4.5: Data item with antenna simulation dataset (codesign_refdesantenna_50ohm.ds)

Figure 4.6: Sub-network for loading the simulation dataset (codesign_datasetloadantenna_50ohm.ds)
Figure 4.7: RefNetDesign termination used in top level design for S-parameter based termination
The design codesign_datasetloadantenna_50ohm.ds in Figure 4.6 is the top level sub-

network with a one-port design file that reads in the S-parameter data file created by
the design saved as codesign_refdesantenna_50ohm.ds in Figure 4.5 where
50ohm_square is the black box symbol created from the Momentum simulation of
the antenna. Finally, in a design file that contains the circuit under test (i.e. LNA) the
RefNetDesign termination component as shown in Figure 4.7, is placed at the pin
(LNA input port) where the S-parameter based termination of the antenna input
impedance is to be applied.
4.2.2 Classical design PCB layout
The Figure 4.8 shows the 50  matched antenna and LNA placed together on layout.
Figure 4.8: Classical antenna-LNA pair PCB layout
4.2.3 Simulation Results
The classical antenna-LNA design is co-simulated for a frequency range 1.4 GHz to
3.0 GHz. The classical antenna-LNA pair design is unconditionally stable from 1.55
GHz.
Figure 4.9: Stability of the classical antenna-LNA design
Figure 4.10: Simulated gain and NF of the classical design

Figure 4.11: Simulated input and output return loss of the classical design
The classical design has a gain that ranges from 15.32 dB at 1.7 GHz to 10.93 dB at
2.7 GHz with a peak gain of 16.73 dB at 1.9 GHz. The noise figure is above 1 dB from
1.6 GHz to 2.1 GHz and is the lowest at 0.8 dB at 2.5 GHz. The input reflection is the
minimum at 2 GHz and the best output matching is seen at 1.8 GHz.
4.2.4 Classical Antenna-LNA pair measurement
The Classical Antenna-LNA prototype is manufactured following the key steps of the
PCB fabrication process, lumped components are soldered on to the LNA. A
measurement setup is prepared and with the help of a VNA ZVM from Rhode
Schwarz (10MHz - 20GHz), the gain and isolation of the prototypes are measured.
The measurement setup consists of 3 stages in which the forward transmission,
reverse transmission are measured. The gain and isolation could not be measured
with the available equipment. So the forward transmission of stage 3 and stage 1 or
2 is measured and a subtraction method is applied to achieve the gain and similar
process is applied to reverse transmission so as to obtain isolation results of the
prototype. The distances and power levels are varied in all the 3 stages to observe
how gain and isolation varies in short (18 cm) and long (29 cm) distances under
power levels ranging from 0 to -20 dBm respectively. It is to be noted that all the
power, forward, reverse transmission and isolation levels are negative values.
Stage 1 setup comprises of a 39 Ω antenna on the right side, a 50 Ω antenna on the

left side of the VNA and the forward, reverse transmission are measured.
18 cm
39 Ω Antenna 50 Ω Antenna
29 cm
In stage 2 the inverse of stage 1 is setup with a 50 Ω antenna on the right side, 39 Ω
antenna on the left side and the forward transmission, reverse transmission are
measured.
18 cm
50 Ω Antenna 39 Ω Antenna
29 cm
In stage 3, a 50 Ω antenna is placed on the right side and the 39 Ω antenna in stage
2 is replaced by a classical antenna – LNA design on the left side. The forward and
reverse transmission are measured in this case, similar to that of stage 1 or stage 2.
The Subtraction method is applied to the forward, reverse transmission of stage 1
w.r.t. that of stage 3 and the resultant gain, isolation of the classical antenna – LNA
designed prototype are obtained.
18 cm
50 Ω Antenna Classical Antenna - LNA

29 cm
4.2.5 Measured results and comparison
Setup 1
The front and rear view of the classical antenna – LNA prototype can be viewed in
Figure 4.12 where an impedance matched 50 Ω square monopole antenna is
integrated with 50 Ω LNA.
Figure 4.12: Front and rear view of the antenna - LNA prototype
Stage 3 setup is implemented with a distance of 18 cm between the modules and the
measured forward transmission is plotted in Figure 4.13 against frequency for various
power levels of 3,5,10,15 dBm. The measured forward and reverse transmission of 3
dBm power level is for stage 1, i.e., between the antenna modules, it is considered as
a reference stage to calculate the gain and isolation of the prototype. The forward
transmission behaviour is almost similar for all power levels. The reverse transmission
behaves similar for 3, 15 dBm power levels in the range of 15 -70 dB, and for 5, 10
dBm it varies in the range 50 - 70 dB.
Reverse Transmission (dB)

Forward Transmission (dB)

Figure 4.13: Forward and Reverse Transmission for different power levels in setup 1
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)
Figure 4.14: Gain and Isolation levels for different power levels of setup 1 in comparison with the
simulated results.
The measured gain plotted for 5, 10 dBm power levels can be seen in Figure 4.14. It is
in the range of 20 - 7 dB and does not match with the simulated results. The
measured isolation for various power levels when compared with the simulated result
is less in the 1.7 - 2.5 GHz range and has a peak in the range 2.6 - 2.7 GHz.
Setup 2
The prototype results plotted in Figure 4.15 are for a distance of 29 cm between the
modules. A similar setup as of the setup 1 is followed and the forward, reverse
transmission levels are measured. The forward transmission plot for 3 dBm power
level (stage 1) is 20 - 65 dB and for 5, 10, 15 dBm power levels it is identical and is in
the range 55 - 80 dB. The reverse transmission levels are almost similar for all power
levels.

(dB)
Figure 4.15: Forward and Reverse Transmission for different power levels in setup 2.
The gain obtained is in the range of 5 - 5 dB within 1.4 – 2.75 GHz band, a peak in
gain around 25 dB is observed at 2.8 GHz; the isolation range for 5,15 dBm power
levels are plotted in comparison to the simulated results that are close to each other
and can be seen in Figure 4.16.
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)
simulated results.
The gain and isolation results shown in Figure 4.17 are a comparison between the
simulated, setup1 and setup2 results. Upon observation, the simulated results are
comparatively better than the prototype results within the 1.7 – 2.7 GHz band.
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)
Figure 4.17: Gain and Isolation levels for setup 1, 2 in comparison with the simulated results.
The drops and peaks in gain, isolation are due to the soldering problems,
imperfections in fabrication process and the transistor bias network did not work as
expected due to which more power was required to drive the transistor into desired
bias state. The spacing between the metal layers in the LNA prototype is very narrow,
so this might also have caused the design to not work as expected and hence the
results had much variation from the simulation results.
4.3 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA
4.3.1 Co-Design and layout preparation
As explained in section 4.1, to perform the co-design of the antenna and LNA, the
IMN of the LNA is removed and only the DC blocking capacitor is left. The resulting
LNA layout is shown in Figure 4.18. In order to investigate the possibilities of a
matching with the antenna presented in section 2.2.2 (39  input impedance), the
LNA S11, Sopt and antenna S11 are plotted in Figure 4.19.
4.3 Co-Design of Antenna and LNA 53
Figure 4.18: LNA layout with IMN removed
Figure 4.19: LNA S11, Sopt and antenna S11 plotted on Smith chart before co-design
It is observed that a fair matching between all plotted S-parameters is possible with a
suitably designed microstrip line at the input of the LNA. The proper length and
width of the microstrip line is found out by sweeping these dimensions and
observing the plots. At a width of W = 1.033 mm and length L = 8.288 mm, the
matching as shown in Figure 4.20, is obtained. Observing the gain and NF of the
design, simultaneously, it is inferred that this particular matching provides the
highest gain and lowest NF.
Figure 4.20: LNA S11, Sopt and antenna S11 plotted on Smith chart after co-design
The LNA layout is modified with this microstrip line (MLIN) component at the input
as shown in Figure 4.21.
Figure 4.21: LNA layout with designed MLIN at input for co-design
To optimize the bias network and stability of the co-designed LNA, a few of the
lumped component and resistor values are modified as shown in the Table 4.1 (the
component numbering in reference to LNA circuit in section 3.6).
Transistor Resistor Capacitor Inductor

ATF58143 R1 909  C1 removed L1 removed
R2 10  C2 22 pF L2 10 nH
R3 13  C3 33 pF L3 10 nH
R4 3 K C4 10 nF L4 1.5 nH
Rstab 7.5  C5 10 nF
C6 10 nF
C7 10 nF
C8 10 nF
Cstab 0.5 pF
Table 4.1: LNA component values for co-designed antenna-LNA pair
Figure 4.22: Co-designed antenna-LNA pair PCB layout
Figure 4.22 shows the PCB layout for the co-design PCB. Since the LNA input has to
be close to the antenna feed point and at the same time the whole design had to
accommodated above the antenna’s ground plane (any extra ground plane would
change the antenna characteristics), the LNA is placed tilted but with no difficulties in
prototype manufacturing.
4.3.2 Simulation results
The LNA shown in Figure 4.21 is co-simulated with the 39  input impedance
antennas in section 2.2.2 using the method described in section 4.2.1.
Figure 4.23: Stability of the co-designed antenna-LNA pair
Figure 4. 24: Simulated gain and NF of the co-designed antenna-LNA pair
Figure 4.25: Simulated input and output return loss for the co-design
As shown in Figure 4.23 the co-designed version is unconditionally stable from 1.7
GHz with K = 1.001. Figure 4.26 shows that the gain peaks at 1.9 GHz with 17.23 dB
and the noise figure is less than 1 dB for the entire frequency range with the lowest
NF of 0.68 dB occurring at 2.3 GHz.
Comparison of co-designed and classical design simulation results
Figure 4.26: Comparison of gain and NF of classical and co-design versions
Figure 4.27: Comparison of gain and NF of classical and co-design versions
The co-design brings about clear improvements in gain and NF as seen in Figure 4.27
with higher gain than the classical design for the entire operation range and a lower
NF than classical design version with noise figure less than 1 dB for the whole range
of frequencies. It is interesting to note that the classical design has superior input
matching at 2 GHz and better input matching than co-design for frequencies upto
2.9 GHz. The co-design version has better output matching for frequencies above 2
GHz.
4.3.3 Co-Designed Antenna-LNA pair measurement
The measurement setup is similar to the classical design measurement setup; the
classical antenna-LNA module in stage 3 is replaced by the co-designed antenna-
LNA module in stage 4. The distances varied are 13, 24 cm and different voltage
levels considered are 5, 5.5, 6 volts. Instead of power levels as of the previous setup,
the voltage levels are varied and the power in this setup is kept constant at 3 dBm.
13 cm
50 Ω Antenna Co-Design Antenna - LNA

24 cm
The subtraction method is applied with stage 4 to that of the stage 2 to obtain the
gain and isolation levels of the prototype.
4.3.4 Measured results and comparison
Setup 1
The front and rear view of the prototyped co-design antenna – LNA pair can be seen
in Figure 4.28 that consists of a impedance matched 50 Ω square monopole antenna,
50 Ω LNA integrated and mounted on the ground plane.
Figure 4.28: Front and rear view of the Co-design prototype
The forward transmission behaves similar when the voltage levels are varied as 5, 5.5,
6 V at 3dBm power and is in the range 0 - 30 dB. 3dBm, 5V plot represents the stage
2 setup that is considered as a reference stage in this setup. The reverse transmission
levels are in an acceptable range within 40 - 90 dB and can be seen in Figure 4.29.
Figure 4.29: Forward and reverse transmission for different voltage levels in setup 1.
The measured gain plotted against frequency in Figure 4.30 shows little deviation
from the simulated result, at few frequencies the measured gain and isolation are
proven to be better than the simulated results within the required band.
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)
simulated results.
Setup 2
The distance between the modules in setup 2 is 24 cm and the measured forward
transmission at 5V is for stage 2 i.e., between the antenna modules and can be seen
in Figure 4.31
(dB) ((dB)
Figure 4.31: Forward and Reverse Transmission for different voltage levels in setup 1.
The measured gain and isolation results in Figure 4.32 are in hand with the simulated
results and the dropouts, peaks occurred at several frequencies are due to the
multipath reflections because of the closed measurement setup, soldering problems
and the bias network did not draw sufficient current as expected.
60 Chapter
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)
simulated results.
Figure 4.33 shows the comparison drawn between the simulated gain, isolation and
the measured gain, isolation for 13 and 24 cm separation distance between the
modules.
Isolation (dB)
Gain (dB)

Figure 4.33: Gain and Isolation levels for setup 1, 2 in comparison with the simulated results
The co-designed antenna - LNA pair results are proven to be better than the classical
antenna – LNA pair in the simulation environment. Since the classical antenna – LNA
pair had problems while manufacturing the prototype, the conclusion on which
design has yielded better results with the prototypes is yet to be made after the
improvements are performed.
61
5 Conclusion
Planar antennas working in the 1.7 - 2.7 GHz frequency range were designed and
manufactured on Rogers R04360 substrate. Low-Noise Amplifier for the same
frequency range using a pHEMT device was designed, simulated and manufactured
on Rogers R04360 substrate. Two versions of functional modules of an antenna-LNA
pair were designed, simulated and manufactured. All the design (circuit and layout)
and simulations were carried out by an interactive process using the schematic
capture and RF simulation EDA tool Advanced Design System (ADS) from Agilent
Technologies. The process included design of schematics with ideal components,
layout generation using Momentum and EM simulations on layout level with real
components (with parasitics).
The manufactured prototypes were tested in the lab for conformity with simulated
results, using a Vector Network Analyzer. For the lack of a Noise Figure Analyzer in
the measurements lab, noise figure of the manufactured prototypes were not
measured.
Monopole antennas are better suited for co-design applications since they have a
wider range of acceptable operation. Co-design of antenna and LNA provides clear
improvements over gain and NF of a classical design version. However, the input
reflections were observed to be slightly higher than the co-designed antenna-LNA
pair, for frequencies upto 2 GHz.
Since the work focussed on the gain and NF improvements, the area optimization
was not considered. So it could be interesting to miniaturize the co-design layout for
space saving. The noise figure of the LNA could be further reduced by using
distributed microstrip lines instead of lumped L and C components. The
measurement results suffer from interference and fading, so to analyse the results
with more accuracy, measurements could be performed in an anechoic chamber
though the existing measurement results correspond to non-ideal real life situations
of antenna operations.
It could be interesting to extend the procedure to use different integrated antenna

designs tailored to the frequency range. The ground plane size of the antenna is a
major obstacle in miniaturization. Hence to reduce the size of the design, different
antenna architectures could be investigated.
Appendix
A.1 Individual contributions
Author Kane Jacob Bala Bhaskar Gudey
Contribution to the thesis Chapter 1 Section 1.5

report
- Chapter 2
Chapter 3 -
Chapter 4 Section 4.1.4, 4.1.5

4.2.3, 4.2.4
Rest of the document
Contribution in ADS All design and simulation All design and simulation tasks
tasks related to LNA related to antennas
Co-design of antenna and Co-design of antenna and LNA

LNA on layout level and final on S-parameter model level
layout design
Contribution to PCB lab tasks PCB lab tasks and component

prototype manufacturing mounting
Contribution in Data collection and analysis Data collection and analysis of

measurements lab of results results
References
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ITTIPIBOON , CHAPTER 1 M ICROSTRIP RADIATORS .
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MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS , BROADBAND PLANAR MONOPOLE ANTENNAS .
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PUBLICATION NO . 461, 0IEE, 1999.
[5] “F UNDAMENTALS OF ANTENNAS ”, CHAPTER 1, AHMED A.KISHK , CENTRE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SYSTEM

RESEARCH (CEDAR), DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING , UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI .
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ELECTRONIC ENG. DEPT., SHAHED UNIVERSITY, TEHRAN-IRAN.
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157-166, IN MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS , IEEE PRESS , 1995.
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ANTENNAS & PROPAGATION M AGAZINE, APRIL 2009.
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JENNINGS , INSTITUTE FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SCIENCES , BOULDER , CO 80305–3328.
[11] “ANTENNA MEASUREMENT THEORY”, WWW .ORBITFR.COM. DATE VISITED 2012-03-26
[12] “RADIATED EFFICIENCY, A TRUE MEASURE OF ANTENNA PERFORMANCE ”, BY JOUNI LIFLÄNDER , RF

DESIGNER, PULSE F INLAND OY, WWW.PULSEELECTRONICS .COM. DATE VISITED 2012-02-01
[13] “REDUCTION OF GROUND-PLANE-DEPENDENT EFFECTS ON MICROSTRIP -FED PRINTED RECTANGULAR

MONOPOLES ”, M. J OHN, J.A. E VANS , M.J. A MMANN, J.C. M ODRO AND Z.N. CHEN , IET M ICROW . A NTENNAS
PROPAG, 2008, 2, (1), PP. 42–47.
[14] “REDUCING GROUND-PLANE EFFECTS ON UWB MONOPOLE ANTENNAS ” , YANG LU, YI HUANG , SENIOR
MEMBER, IEEE, HASSAN TARIQ CHATTHA, AND PING CAO, IEEE ANTENNAS AND WIRELESS PROPAGATION
LETTERS , VOL . 10, 2011.
[15] “RESEARCH ARTICLE DESIGN ASPECTS OF PRINTED MONOPOLE ANTENNAS FOR ULTRA-WIDE BAND
APPLICATIONS ”, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOLUME 2008, A RTICLE ID
713858, 8 PAGES ,DOI:10.1155/2008/713858, K. P. RAY, SAMEER, IIT CAMPUS , HILL SIDE, POWAI.
[16] “DESIGN OF A SMALL PRINTED MONOPOLE ANTENNA FOR ULTRA WIDEBAND APPLICATIONS ”, ALI
RAMADAN, MOHAMMED AL-HUSSEINI , ALI EL-HAJJ AND K ARIM Y. KABALAN.
[17] “APPLICATION NOTE AN058, ANTENNA SELECTION GUIDE” BY RICHARD WALLACE, T EXAS INSTRUMENTS .
[18] “ANTENNA AND LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER (LNA) CO-DESIGN”, BY BO YANG, XI SHAO , QUIRINO BALZANO
AND NEIL G OLDSMAN , UNIVERSITY OF M ARYLAND , IEEE 978-1-4244-6031-1/09.
[19] AGILENT ADS REFNETS HELP ,

FILE ://LOCALHOST /C:/A GILENT /ADS2011_05/ DOC/CKTSIM /R EF NETS .HTML #R EF NETS -1103947
[20] “APPLICATION NOTE 1375 ATF-58143 E-PHEMT GA AS FET LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER DESIGN FOR 900
MHZ APPLICATIONS ”, AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES .
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LiU-ITN-TEK-A--12/046--SE

Co-Design of Antenna and LNA for

Department of Science and Technology Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap

Co-Design of Antenna and LNA for

Bala Bhaskar Gudey

Examinator Adriana Serban

Detta dokument hålls tillgängligt på Internet – eller dess framtida ersättare –

© Bala Bhaskar Gudey , Jacob Kane

ADS Advanced Design System A circuit design and simulation

E-pHEMT Enhancement mode A FET device with a heterojunction

IMN/OMN Input / Output Matching Matching networks used for

NF Noise Figure A measure of a receiver’s noise

P1dB Compression Point Power level at which gain of the

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio The ratio of signal power to the

TL Transmission Line A specialized cable designed for

VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio The ratio of maximum and

The objectives of the thesis are as follows;

1) To study the background of planar antenna and LNA design

1.3 Thesis Outline

Chapter 4 introduces the co-design methodology and the co-simulation of an

1.4 High Frequency Design Challenges

An antenna that can be integrated needs to be a planar structure. A planar structure

An antenna is a transducer that converts electromagnetic signals to electric currents

1.5.1 Planar Monopole Antenna

wide range of frequencies the radiation performance is also shown to be acceptable,

1.5.2 Microstrip Antenna

A microstrip antenna comprises of copper or gold radiating patch that can be

1.5.3 Antenna performance characteristics

Bandwidth is an antenna characteristic that measures the variable frequency range in

The steps involved to compute antenna bandwidth are detailed;

Narrowband or Percent bandwidth is given by

% B=[ * 100 (%) (1.3)

Central frequency, = (1.4)

Broadband or Fractional bandwidth is given by the ratio

Impedance Bandwidth / Return Loss Bandwidth

where Q according to Chu Harrington theory is

and R is the reflector radius.

which indicates a reflected wave divided by an incident wave, by definition is equal to

If a mismatch is present between the characteristic impedance of the transmission

where and are the mismatched impedances in Ω.

It is the ratio of radiation intensity in a given direction to the radiation intensity of a

It is computed by the expression

G (dBi) = 10*Log = 10 * Log as = 1 (or 0dB). (1.13)

Radiation pattern or Antenna pattern

It is the graphical gain representation of the radiation properties of an antenna in all

Figure 1.1: Radiation pattern in polar and rectangular plot

1.6 Low-Noise Amplifier

Noise figure is an important design consideration for an RF or microwave amplifier

|∆| < 1 (1.15)

where the stability factor K is given by

K = (1 - |S11|2 - |S22|2 + |∆|2 ) / (2|S12S21|) (1.16)

∆ = S11S22 – S12S21 (1.17)

Microwave transistors produced by manufacturers are either unconditionally stable

2.1.1 Substrate Specifications

Figure 2.1: Rogers RO4360

Loss Tangent @ 2GHz 0.003

Substrate Thickness 0.305 mm

Copper Conductivity 5.8 S/m

Table 2.1: RO4360 substrate properties

2.1.2 Monopole antenna requirement specifications

The antenna requirement specifications are given in Table 2.2.

Frequency band 1.7 – 2.7 GHz

Central Frequency 2.2 GHz

Input reflection < - 10 dB

G (dBi) = 10Log = 10 Log as = 1 (or 0dB). (1.13)